Last week’s 20-0 drubbing of Greenville-Weston gave Vicksburg a welcome shot of confidence as it won in all three phases of the game.

The Gators (1-6, 1-2 Region 2-6A) will need all of that momentum and more as they take on the region’s 1,000-pound gorilla, Madison Central (7-0, 3-0), on the road on Friday.

This year’s Madison Central team is a different one with a new quarterback, Drew Rowell, taking shotgun snaps in the spread offense. He has thrown 10 touchdown passes against only one interception.

But throwing the football won’t be the Jaguars’ primary means to move the ball against a much-improved Gator defense.

Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens knows that his defense will see a steady diet of the read option all night and the Gators will need to put on a tackling clinic like they did against the Hornets.

The sleight-of-hand that makes the option so deadly is precisely why the Gators can’t neglect a single responsibility on any play. As running back Joe Price showed with a 252-yard, five-touchdown effort against Warren Central last week, all it takes is one mistake and the Jaguars have the ability to turn a 5-yard carry into an 52-yard backbreaker.

“The option preys on undisciplined teams,” Stevens said. “You can’t go over there and help on another guy, because that’s when it gets past you. We’ve got to be disciplined. If you’ve got the pitch, you’ve got to stay with the pitch. If you’ve got the dive, you have to stay with your responsibility.”

Price has rushed for 600 yards on 65 carries with seven touchdowns. Rowell is another running threat in the shotgun, with seven rushing touchdowns and 350 yards so far this season.

Speaking of the option, the Jaguars added a new wrinkle to their offense with wideout Tobias Singleton taking snaps out of the wildcat formation. While he hasn’t attempted a pass out of the formation, he has rushed for 229 yards and four touchdowns in addition to being Rowell’s top pass-catching target with 23 catches for 293 yards and seven scores.

The Gators will need to wrap up and gang-tackle, something they did effectively against a potent Greenville-Weston rushing attack.

“We can’t just dive at someone’s legs and let them turn a 1-yard gain into an 80-yard one,” Stevens said. “We’ve got to hold on and let help get there.”

The key to stopping Madison Central will be forcing the Jaguars to drive the length of the field and get some turnovers.

“We need to make them work for it. Four yards here, eight yards here, like a rubber band,” Stevens said. “Bend but don’t break. If we can get some turnovers, we’ll be in good shape.”

Offensively, Stevens wants the same balance the Gators showed against Greenville-Weston. Quarterback Cameron Cooksey was held under 300 yards for the first time in two games, but he had one touchdown pass to Milan Nasif. Running back Kawayne Gaston’s 113-yard, one-touchdown performance showed the Gators aren’t one-dimensional. Stevens credited the improved rushing attack from last year’s to the formidable lead blocking of burly fullback Eric Funches, who is a load at 245 pounds.

“Cooksey did a great job of managing the game,” Stevens said. “People think we’re a passing team, but the secret is that we can definitely run the football, too.”